In brief: KAYU-TV, DISH reach agreement

Northwest Broadcasting Inc. and DISH Network have reached an agreement for retransmission of the programming from its four Fox stations, including in Spokane and Yakima, a news release from DISH announced Saturday evening.

The agreement was reached in time for DISH customers to see the football playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons this morning, the release said.

KAYU-TV, Spokane’s Fox affiliate, had been blacked out to DISH customers since late November. Terms of the deal to end the blackout were not disclosed.

The dispute between the broadcast group and the satellite TV provider angered many customers and sports fans, as each side had blamed the other for the lack of resolution.

Police make arrest in Friday shooting

One man has been arrested after a shooting Friday night in north Spokane.

Phillip C. Ruiz, 23, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of first-degree assault in an overnight shooting at 311 E. Liberty Ave. Officer Jennifer DeRuwe, spokeswoman for Spokane police, said they expect to make additional arrests as the investigation continues.

Detectives believe both victims and suspects may be gang-affiliated. Two unidentified victims are in critical condition with gunshot wounds at a local hospital, DeRuwe said.

Grant will help buy truck for food bank

Second Harvest in Spokane has received a $110,000 grant from Wal-Mart that the food bank will use to buy a new semitruck for distribution.

Having the truck will help Second Harvest boost food distribution to 28 million pounds annually by 2016, a news release from Wal-Mart said.

The food bank is on target to distribute at least 23 million pounds of food this year, said Melissa Cloninger, Second Harvest’s director of community and corporate relations.

“What drives us is the need, and the need is through the roof,” Cloninger said. She said many people are still having trouble making ends meet and the organization has seen an increase in need of almost 25 percent recently.

“Wal-Mart has been very generous,” Cloninger said.

The Wal-Mart Foundation gave $750,000 to Washington nonprofits last year, according to Madeleine Havener, the retail chain’s regional general manager for Washington and Oregon.

HELENA – Expansion of Medicaid largely paid for with federal money would boost Montana’s economy, a report released Saturday says.

Gov. Steve Bullock is proposing that the state expand Medicaid to about 60,000 more residents with money offered under the federal health care law. The state’s share of this expansion would be a small fraction of the overall cost, about $5 million.

The target population for Medicaid expansion is uninsured people making less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level, or $31,809 for a family of four.

Bullock has included the proposal in his budget being considered by the Legislature.

The report was prepared for State Insurance Commissioner Monica Lindeen.

The report says that one in five Montanans does not have health insurance. Uncompensated care in Montana hospitals cost taxpayers almost $150 million in 2010, the report found.